In The Shadows
by xXHailHydraXx
Summary: In the wake of the Disasteroid event, Danny phantom is now the world's hero in mostly everybody's eyes. However, with the reveal of himself as the only human-ghost hybrid in the existence, new threats are approaching him from the shadows, including the discovery a strange ghostly gem, with a mystery behind it that will put the both the world and himself in grave destruction.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everybody! It's about time I got started on this story** **since I've been putting it off for a long time. This story will mark the beginning of 4** **th** **season for Danny Phantom and function as a continual narrative structure throughout the episodes. This first episode will be longer than normal to re-establish the characters as well as introduce new ones. Please read and review as I appreciate feedback and ideas on how to make my stories better :)**

 **Chapter 1: The Aftermath**

Flying across the sky with his new girlfriend, Danny couldn't help but be somewhat proud of what he had accomplished in the past couple of days. The whole event with the Disasteroid had changed everything in not only his life, but everyone else connected to him in some way or another.

Looking down at the large statue now in the front of City hall, Danny smiled lightly as he recalled what had happened over the past couple days. His secret was now out, Sam was now his girlfriend, he was now the world's hero. He had everything he any lucky teenager could always dream of, all because he had saved the earth from the now famous known Disasteroid. So then why wasn't he as happy as he should be?

Thinking about how all this happen, starting from the fight in space, losing his ghost powers to realize what he had and how it made him who he was, to his entire fiasco with his evil-self, he knew that all this wouldn't have happened if Vlad hadn't moved the asteroid after he destroyed his own satellite.

However, as that thought crossed his mind, Danny begin to feel a slight pang of guilt in his heart. After all, the whole reason this happened in the first place was because he forced Vlad into his life. He destroyed his perfect clone, played the first prank that drew him to Amity park as mayor, and started this whole game of cat and mouse with him. So he rarely ever deserved this happy ending in some way or the other, especially when he was convinced this was all his fault in somehow. In some way he almost even felt sorry for Vlad, he was the hero though, and the hero always defeats the villain. So why didn't he believe that now as he used too?

Sam suddenly started to notice that something was wrong when she felt her new boyfriend tense up. She could almost feel a sense of emotion radiating off of him just by being near him. It was almost heartbreaking how he felt and she couldn't understand why?

"Danny, are you okay?" Sam suddenly with an obvious tone of worry in her voice.

Danny immediately snapped out of his current thoughts and looked directly at her thinking at what to say next. "I'm guess so…" he muttered calmly, although he was anything but calm. "I guess I just feel kinda bad for Vlad, I mean this whole situation was my fault to begin with."

Sam started at him confused for a moment. Why would he think he was responsible for Vlad's actions? What Vlad did was his fault, so why was he sounding guilty or even feeling bad for what that monster did to him?

"Danny, Vlad chose his own actions, you aren't responsible for what he what he chose to do". She said trying to comfort him. But Danny wasn't satisfied with that response. "You don't understand Sam, in some way it is my fault." He said almost angrily. But as he started to feel his new girlfriend tense up and took a deep breath to calm down realizing his emotions were probably making her uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry Sam, I didn't mean to say it like that." He said sincerely. "But I need you to understand that I am responsible for Vlad's actions in some way, whether he chose the path or not."

Ever since what happened after that whole fiasco in the Rockies with Dani, Danny's relationship with Vlad hadn't been the same as it always ways. Even Sam could sense Vlad's intentions were different then what when they had met each other face-to-face after the whole ecto-acne thing. Vlad had moved to amity park and became mayor simply to hurt Danny in the worst possible way, he had given up on his need for love and starting acting out against him. It was almost as if Vlad's actions were simply out of revenge. Revenge against him, the ones he loved, and the entire world. It was as if Vlad simply was trying to hurt him in the same way that he had hurt him.

"Maybe If I had tried to understand him better, maybe things would have been different." He said soberly as they continued to fly across the late night sky.

Now Sam could understand how Danny was feeling in some way or another. After all, she couldn't deny the coincidence with how Vlad's actions spoke. However, they could also be interpreted differently than what her boyfriend was thinking of them as.

"Maybe you're right Danny." She said in a comforting tone. "In some way Vlad did probably do this out of revenge. But you can't change what he did any more than you could change was happened between the two of you these past couple of years."

Danny just looked at her and nodded his head in agreement, although he didn't fully accept it her comforting words, as he flew with Sam towards her house and into her room with her.

He sighed and thought to himself that it was true in some way because he couldn't change Vlad's actions or what he did to him in the past. The point is Vlad was most likely gone forever and things would never be the same as they used to be. His secret was out, he was the world's hero, and he his best friend was the now what his girlfriend, like they always wanted. Perhaps it was time to fully accept it and move on with his life because no matter what he did or how much he wanted, he could not change what happened in the past few days.

Danny sat Sam down onto her bed carefully and changed back into his human form as he sat down next to her.

"I know you're right Sam." He said with calm indifference in his voice. "I guess I just feel bad for him in some way, but I guess it's time to accept the truth and face what's to come."

Sam's looked at her new boyfriend still not convinced he was okay, but deciding not to press the issue further she just smiled at what Danny had said instead before he changed the topic. "Things are gonna be a lot different now, you know." He informed her before his own smile faltered slightly. "Especially now that everybody knows my secret, we might not have much time to be alone."

"Don't worry about it Danny, I'm sure we will find some way to make it work, after all last time I checked, my boyfriend can turn invisible, can't he?" She replied smiling lightly.

Danny chuckled lightly at his girlfriend's words but then his smiled faltered as he thought about her words for a second. The truth was that things would be different, but although he was sure that his friends and family would accepted him, which they had, he was not so sure about everyone else. Sure there the people he knew at Casper High and his fans would probably accept him, but then there were others he wasn't so sure about, particularly Valerie and especially the Guys-In-White.

"I know it seems like things are going get better." He said worried. "But I know that everybody is not going to accept me, Sam."

Sam knew Danny was referring to Valerie, but the truth was that although Valerie may have seemed okay with everything when he revealed his secret to everyone, she knew in her heart that Valerie was not going to easily forgive Danny after everything that they had been through together.

"Not everything is going to be perfect Danny". Sam said trying to comfort him. "I know it's a lot to take it right now, and we both know that not everybody was going to be happy and okay with you and what happened. But I'll definitely say that nothing will ever change between us after all we've been through and I'll always be there to support you as your best friend and your girlfriend.

Danny smiled and relaxed at hearing those words. He was so glad that he was finally able to tell Sam how he felt about her and that she was there to support him after everything they've been through. Sam then pulled Danny in with a quick kiss to relax him and it felt great to him.

But Danny suddenly remembering where they were, he pulled away quickly and said, "Alright Sam, I think it's great that we're able to express are feelings for each other now, but we gotta be a little more careful here. We don't wanna have your parents suddenly walk in and catch us. He joked lightly.

Sam laughed at his remark and smiled faintly. "My boyfriend and his hero complex, always wanting to do the right thing." she replied in an amused tone. "Besides, I think my parents trust you enough to keep me safe."

Danny couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her words, even if they were not all true. "Yeah, Well I guess I can't help being noble all the time, and you know your parents still wouldn't both of us in your room alone yet anyway, whether they trust me or not." He smiled back. "Besides, I know you like it."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that will change one day, right?" Sam asked him. Danny shrugged in response to her question. The truth was he didn't really know how to answer that, or if he even could provide an answer. Danny gathered his thoughts and kissed her goodbye quickly before transforming into phantom and flying all the way back to his house.

Maybe Sam was right in some way, perhaps it was time to put the past behind him and focus on the present. Nothing was ever going to be the same so he might as well stop pretending, even if he had to force it, because he would never be able to move on with his life if he didn't.

Landing inside of his house, Danny transformed back into his human form before starting up the stairs to his room. He had important things to get done before he took a deep breath, the first thing he had to do was get to Vlad's house to ensure that he got rid of everything that his enemies could use against him, specifically the Guys-In-White. After all, he knew it was dangerous to leave the Vlad's personal items in the wrong hands. It could spell disaster for him and the rest of his family. But he needed to clear some things up with Jazz first, he had called her on his way home and told her meet him in his room so they could go over their new ghost hunting schedule for Team Phantom that she wrote up for them.

However, as he was continuing to think about what else he needed to get done, he stopped halfway up the stairs when he heard his parents talking behind a slightly closed door to their bedroom. He didn't know his parents were already home from the celebration. His dad's voice sounded so grieved and upset it was almost as if I was hearing another man speak inside of my father. He couldn't help but stand there and silently listen to what they were saying.

" _I wish you would've told me about him Maddie. Every time I brought that monster into this house I was putting my kids in danger…why didn't you say anything?_

" _Because, I knew how much he meant to you Jack,"_ my mom said to him calmly. _"And I didn't want to give you such hurtful news. Yes, I knew Vlad had feelings for me, but i figured that as long as he wasn't disrespectful towards any of us I would just let it go. I thought it would be the right choice, especially after he saved Danny from the ghost king._

" _I doubt he saved Danny without some sick purpose behind it, Maddie,"_ his dad replied with deep resentment in his voice.

My heart panged slightly at hearing my dad speak like that. His tone of voice was almost as dark and grieved as Vlad had been. It almost seemed like that his dad now hated Vlad more than the older hybrid has once hated him. It was almost scary to hear him speak like this now.

" _My son suffered so much because of what I did to him, it almost feels like I don't even know him anymore,"_ he continued. " _Maddie_ , _do you think he still loves me?"_

Danny suddenly jolted at the question his father asked his mom. Why would his dad think that he didn't love him anymore?

"Jack, what are you talking about," Maddie replied confused. " _Of course Danny still loves you, he's our son, and he knows how much we both love him."_

" _But…Vlad hated me because of what I turned him into, Maddie,"_ my dad answered. _"What if my son hates me for what did to him? I mean, isn't it my fault for turning him into this mess in the first place?"_

Danny eyes winded with shock! How could his father think like that? No he needed to make things right now! He couldn't let his father blame himself for the mistakes he made.

But before he could walk in to make things right Jazz grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, gesturing him towards the door to his room. Once inside Danny's room, she closed the door and sat down on his bed.

"Jazz, didn't you hear what they were talking about?" Danny said distressed. "I have to go talk to them right now!"

"No, Danny, Dad just needs some time right now." She replied calmly. "After everything that happened in space with Vlad, and discovering what happened it's just better to let them be for now. Just let them talk things over with each other before you speak to them."

Danny didn't say anything right away because he suddenly had another thought on his mind. What did happen between Vlad and his father out in space. Vlad hadn't returned with his father and he hadn't even seen him after the Disasteroid incident. Did Vlad get stranded out there in space? But then would that mean that Vlad is truly gone, Right?

His mind couldn't piece together everything that was going on inside his head, but he did need to know what happened out there between Vlad and his father.

"Jazz, do you know what happened to Vlad?" Danny asked carefully.

Jazz looked down before she answered his question, knowing that he wouldn't like the answer if she told him. "Yes Danny, but you don't need to know that right now."

Danny continued to stare at Jazz confused before asking. "Jazz, what are you talking about? Why wouldn't you want me to know what happened? Didn't the video footage record what happened up there in space?"

Jazz sighed before telling him she deleted the footage of what happened, Danny freaked out as a result before Jazz tried to calm him down, not exactly understanding why he was so freaked out about her deleting the tapes.

"Danny I don't understand why you're so concerned about Vlad being alive or not," she asked him, clearly catching his frustration over her deletion of the footage.

"Because I'm afraid of being alone…" he said soberly.

Jazz was both confused and shocked in some way. She had never heard Danny freely admit his own emotions or even say something like that. _What does he mean by that? Why would he think that he was going to be alone just because Vlad was gone? Was it because he was now the only one of his kind left? Was that the kind of alone he was attributing too?_ Jazz continued to think to herself and organize her thoughts on what Danny was saying, but she found it hard at the moment to understand and instead decided to comfort him with words he would understand.

"Danny, you're never going to be alone. You have an entire family that loves you and two best friends that will always stand by your side when you need them." She comforted him.

"Well one _best friend_ , the other is now my girlfriend." Danny corrected her in a joking manner.

Jazz just smiled at him. Danny always loved to correct her, it made him feel somewhat smug when she made a mistake, after all what kind of younger brother wouldn't want to annoy correct his overbearing sister who thought she was always right?

"Well, don't worry about anything else Danny." She said to him. "Enjoy what the fact that you're a hero, and that you have mom and dad's support with them knowing your half-ghost..."

"…and an overbearing sister who thinks she always right." Danny joked again in an amusing tone.

Jazz just slapped her brother on his shoulder lightly in response before she walked out of the room, making Danny laugh a little harder. But she turned around quickly, realizing she forgot to tell Danny something important. However, Danny had already transformed and was gone when she stepped back in the room, so Jazz decided to tell him when he got back from wherever it was he was going as she walked back to her own room to get ready for bed.

Danny flew through the air relishing the wind that blew through his face. Despite everything that had happened, he had not forgotten that he had to get to Vlad's mansion as soon as he could. He knew that after what Vlad had done, the Guys-In-White would no doubt be the first to start snooping around looking for evidence or technology to use against him or any other enemies of theirs. He need to make sure he destroyed everything so they would be nothing left for them to take.

Danny approached Vlad's mansion and turning intangible, he landed inside Vlad's secret underground lab, before walking over to the main computer terminal. It looked like Vlad had been prepared for something like this. He already had apparently deleted all of his critically important files since most of the hard drive data had been cleared recently.

 _He probably set the data to delete automatically if he didn't return_. Danny thought. _But did that mean he knew he was going to lose all along, or that there was at least a chance he wouldn't?_

Danny continued to check deeper into the files, trying to find some answers to his questions. However, he instantly blasted behind him from what he thought he heard something. It turned out it was an activate hologram of Vlad.

Danny just stared at the hologram for a couple seconds before guessing it was activated when he entered the lab as the recording of Vlad began speaking.

" _So here we finally are, Daniel. We are both at the End of the Line, and our petty little game._ The hologram of Vlad sneered at him. Danny narrowed his eyes angrily at the recording Vlad left. Was this how he saw all of this? Was this just some sort of game to him?

The holographic Vlad then narrowed his eyes evilly at Daniel before continuing. _"However, you didn't really think that this was some simple little game I was intending to win do you?_ The recording smirked evilly. _"You see little badger, from the very beginning, I knew I was going to lose this battle between the two of us. However, in some way, I made sure that you would lose as well, Daniel._

Danny just stared at the recording angrily as his suspicions were confirmed. _So, he did know was going to lose all along._

" _Oh yes, Daniel."_ He stated firmly. _"I know what you're thinking. I'm pretty sure you remember the pact the day we met, don't you?"_

Yes, Danny remembered what Vlad has said the day they first met. If he exposed him, he would expose himself, and sure enough that was what happened. _"Oh yes, you might think that you've won Daniel. But in reality, you have lost in the same way that I have. Not everybody will accept you Daniel, because by exposing myself in such a manner, if you exposed yourself one day, not everyone in the world truly accept you for who you are. After all, who could be more fitting to teach the hardest lesson than somebody like you?"_ The Hologram of Vlad said with slight anger.

Danny's mouth hung open slightly before he narrowed his eyes in anger at the hologram. So this is what this was all about? To break him in some cruel harsh way. In reality in made very little sense. But in some way he supposed it could. Vlad had gone from some specific to unrealistic goals. From obtaining love to trying to fill a void that he knew he would never have by taking his anger out on the very thing he sought to protect…the world.

Danny knew Vlad never had any interest in the world to begin with. But he knew Vlad had been far gone from the day he destroyed his perfect clone. Vlad reached his breaking point that day and set out to disprove his view of black and white heroics and evil by proving that not everything could be saved or was as cut and dry as it seemed.

Vlad had set himself up from the very beginning to lose, all to teach him a lesson. But in some way he was right, the world was not as black and white as it seemed. There was no clear line between good and evil. That notion finally began to seep through Danny, just as Vlad had intended from the beginning, and it burned his heart to know that was true as Vlad's next words sank into his mind.

" _So this is how it ends for us Daniel. Exposed to the world as the monsters that we truly are. Whether you accepted or not, I was far too gone to be saved, thanks to you."_ The recording continued, sneering at him.

" _I have programmed the lab to erase everything of value in the computers to avoid anything falling into the hands of my other enemies. However, I have programmed some certain information that you may find useful one day into this small hard-drive."_ He informed Danny calmly as a small USB drive ejected from the port in the main computer terminal.

" _The drive is encrypted to avoid falling into the wrong hands, considering I do have other enemies that would love to get their hands on this as well, especially the Guys-In-White. Although I'm quite certain your little techno friend can unlock it easily enough."_ He continued. _"The lab is set to self-destruct within the next couple of minutes to erase any physical evidence, so I strongly suggest you leave as soon as we finish here."_

The self-destruct sequence began counting down on the main computers while Danny grabbed the USB from the computer port and put it in his pocket.

" _Goodbye, Danny Phantom. It is with my death that I am now free of this world of pain and now finally at peace with myself."_ He spoke his last words with disgust before the hologram fizzled out of existence.

 _That Selfish Jerk!_ Danny thought angrily. _He destroyed himself just to teach me a lesson? Forget it, He doesn't deserve my pity, good riddance!_

Danny was furious at what had just happened before he turned around and flew upward towards the Vlad's private office determined to leave the place before it blew for good. However, before he could do that he stopped and saw Vlad's cat sleeping on his private chair.

 _So Vlad really did get a cat after all?_ He thought with some mild amusement as he walked toward the chair where the cat was sleeping.

"I'm guessing he probably named you Maddie?" he asked the cat, though it couldn't hear him, after floating down in front of her and looking at the name tag on her collar, which confirmed his suspicions instantly.

"Yep, he did." He confirmed sarcastically when seeing the name on the cat's tag. Determined not to leave an innocent animal to perish in the house that was about to explode, even if it was Vlad's cat, Danny quickly grabbed the fat cat under his arm, which the cat scowled at him for doing, and flew out of the mansion towards the one person he thought would take care of the cat without question, Sam's house. However, he never did notice the strange dark pair of malicious purple eyes that had been watching him from a rooftop in the distance with evil intent as he continued to fly away from Vlad's Mansion…

To say the Master of Time was surprised was an overstatement. After all, Clockwork was well aware of the events that happened for quite some time now. He could see many different timelines and their outcomes, so it hardly came as a surprise when he saw the what happened in the past few weeks. He knew how this would end for everyone, and as much as he wanted to avoid having Danny go through so much torment, he could not interfere. A spirit's vows explicitly prohibited using their unique powers for any personal reasons, no matter how much it hurt him to sit there and watch.

Clockwork sighed as he winded his time staff to reveal a next set of images. "This is far from over…" he said more to himself calmly.

Clockwork knew this was only the beginning of what was to come. The Disasteroid event, which was what the world now called it, was the turning point in the events that would happen a year from now. Although he knew that what was going to happen would not end for well for anybody. He could not allow anyone or anything to prevent it, as the alternatives he had watched would be far worse then what would be if time followed its destined course.

Clockwork pulled up the next set of images, continuing to view the events that would take place a year from now. He watched with the same indifferent expression on his face he usually had as the orb showed Danny fighting a Human with an oddly red staff with some kind of dragon at the tip of the base. The scene then changed to reveal Danny screaming in pain as some strange purple electricity coursed through his body before the scene then changed to show Danny holding a strange green gem before the entire city of amity park is demolished by a large explosion, seemingly killing everyone inside the blast radius.

Clockwork clicked the button at the top of his staff to pull up another set of images revealing a set of events that took place during the Disasteroid event that Danny wasn't even aware of yet. The Disasteroid event had only laid the groundwork for what was to come, and the worst part was that even with all his power he could do nothing but sit there and watch it happen.

Clockwork smiled to himself as he flipped through the sets of images to find a loophole he could exploit in the events that would take place soon. After all, just because he couldn't directly interfere with the events that would eventually take place, didn't mean he could influence the outcome in some way.

" _Clockwork!"_ an all too familiar voice said out loud.

Clockwork sighed in annoyance turning around to face who was here to berate him, he had almost forgotten those two observants have come to him eventually after finding out what had happened in the past couple of days.

Justeco and his counselor Konsilisto phased into the room standing beside each other, looking at Clockwork with their eyes narrowed at him. He knew they were about to yell at him, and he honestly couldn't blame them for their anger, after all he blocked their view of the time stream to prevent them from seeing the what was to come, so he was prepared for the onslaught he was about to receive from them.

"So, I take it you're not happy with me keeping from you both the events of what happened the past couple of days." He almost mocked slightly.

Justeco narrowed his eyes clearly annoyed with the Time Spirit's causal attitude toward what he had done, he was obviously starting to get sick of it. "You blocked our view of the timeline so we couldn't interfere with what happened, of course we are furious." The head observant spoke with clear anger in his voice.

"I had no choice, I knew if I didn't you and the ancient clan would interfere given the severity of these circumstances, and forgive me Justeco, but I could not allow that to that happen." Clockwork said in his usual calmness.

"That is not for you to decided Clockwork, not when there are issues as grave as what is to come. We saw the threat of what those half-ghost actions would have brought upon us, and not only did we warn you to dispose of them, but then you decided to ignore our warning regardless of the threat it has now placed upon all of existence!" Justeco explained, now looking somewhat perplexed by the time master's audacity to take matters into his own hands in such a way and seemingly continue to seem so casual about his actions.

"Forgive me, but you seem to be forgetting that as the master of time, it is my responsibility to protect the time stream, even if that requires me to keep the truth from you and the rest of the ancients." Clockwork informed them as he turned around to face his time viewing orb once again.

"I suggest you make that argument to the Ancient Clan yourself." Justeco informed him. "You might have been given the power to protect all existence as you see fit, but procedures are in place for a reason to protect all of existence and even ourselves if need be. The ancient's laws dictate that in situations as grave as this, you are required to inform if not us, then at the very least the ancients themselves in case they need to step in, especially due to the gravity of our current situation and the threat of existence that is now looming over our heads. After all Clockwork, you were Ancient at one point, you should know how the Ancient's laws work, is that not correct?"

Clockwork frowned deeply at Justeco's words. He didn't like being reminded that he was an ancient, it brought back some uncomfortable memories, especially with the spirit of order, and there was no doubt in his mind the Ancients already knew of what he had done, which is probably why the observants were here now. After all, he could not view other spirits within the time stream as they existed outside of time, but he had a hunch that was why they were here, even if it was just a guess. Clockwork smirked to himself as he realized he was enjoying making an educated guess instead of seeing through his time orb and knowing the outcome all the time, it was a nice change of pace to not always know everything that would happen.

Clockwork quickly snapped out of his thoughts when he realized the observants were still floating behind him waiting for an answer. "Sometimes it is necessary to protect all of existence than to worry about laws and order." He said cryptically, purposefully trying to avoid answering their previous question.

"That is not what we asked Clockwork. However, I suppose I am wasting my breath, you never listen to our words anyways." Justeco informed to him plainly. "However, just keep in mind that the high council is already aware of what has happened, and you know what is going to happen now. I would worry about how they're going to react to your explanation of what's happened and whether they will let it go this time or not.

"I do listen very much Justeco, and I wouldn't worry too much about the rest of the Ancients, I will deal with their reactions when the time comes." Clockwork responded with no pun intended as both the observants prepared to leave his sanctuary. "However, keep in mind Justeco, that sometimes it is necessary to ignore certain procedures especially if the situation has shown that enforcing these 'procedures' will have an even more dangerous effect on the timeline that not all.

"If you say that is true Clockwork, then I suggest you save that argument for the ancient clan yourself. By the way, Horris wants to see you personally tomorrow before you meet with the rest of the ancients to discuss this matter. I would make sure to be prepared with a good explanation." The Head-observant warned him before Clockwork smiled in response and both he and his brother disappeared.

Clockwork sighed as he floated over to one of his time medallions as he picked it up off the shelve in his hand and headed back over to his time orb to pull up a set of images revealing the target he was going to bring the medallion to. The images then disappeared as Clockwork floated over to a small table with a small black lockbox on it that clearly looked like it didn't belong there.

Clockwork aimed his time staff at the lockbox and fired a beam of blue energy at it, encasing the box in a protective energy field that was dimly lit, but barely noticeable, just enough so nobody would notice that he had taken it.

Clockwork turned around to look into the viewing orb as he grabbed the black lockbox off the table and held the medallion in his other hand as he watched the events unfold one last time before heading out to complete his part. However, as soon as the images finished one last time. "Everything is as it should be…" Clockwork muttered to himself as the disappeared from his tower altogether.

 **Okay, I know this chapter is short, but the purpose of this entire chapter is sort of a recap of what happened at the end of season 3 and to show what happened to the characters after Phantom Planet and how they will deal with the changes that are to come, however, I did throw in some teasers and foreshadows of what is to come, as well as set up some interesting story arcs for season 4 and some for season 5 as well.**

 **And before you all began to question about Vlad, let me say right now you can all start letting the flames roll in the comments because right now Vlad is officially dead and that mysterious figure is not him. However, that does not mean it isn't possible for him to come back in some way for sooner or later… :) But getting rid of Vlad for now allows for me to establish some brand new villains and some interesting new story arcs without having to focus on so many characters all at once.**

 **The next four chapters of this episode will begin the first story arc and take place a year from this chapter while trying to establish the changes in relationships between the main characters.**

 **See you all then, and remember that your reviews motivate me very much :D**


	2. Act I - Preview

**Hello everybody, I'm back! This marks the first part of the story and will also began the first story arc I have planned for this season. It will also be setting up a few secondary arcs, some of which will take place during later episodes in season 4. I would also like to thank author Pearl84 for allowing me to use some of her OC characters. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long, but good writing takes time. And that's what makes a good story. So, let's begin, shall we? ;)**

 **Previously on Danny Phantom: A costly battle between Vlad and Danny caused the both of them to reveal their status of half-ghosts to the entire world. But although Vlad is considered dead in the eyes of most people, Danny is alive and now known as the hero of the world. But after a year of enduring the changes in his life, the younger-hybrid is slowly starting to wonder if the choice he made a year ago was indeed the right one.**

 **Meanwhile, Clockwork has been keeping an eye on the events to come over the next few years. But with his attempt of blocking the events to ensure nobody interferes in what is to come, the results had no doubt angered both the observants and ancients alike.**

 **Skeptical at whether Clockwork's methods are a threat to existence rather than protection, the observants allowed him to continue with his ways, but not without the warning him of what the consequences would be if he didn't comply with the ancient's laws, should the situation ever get out of control. Regardless, Clockwork continued to do as he saw fit, even if his actions continue to anger the observants to no end.**

The scene flashes back to reveal a series of events which took place during September 16, 1945.

In the middle of a small base, an old man turned around while slowly cleaning the lenses of his antique glasses.

As the old man watched his troops prepare for evacuation, Major Steinar came to him with the information he was waiting for.

"Sir, we are almost finished packing up the items from your vault." Major Steiner informed the man calmly. "The Second-In-Command will be bringing the one item you wanted out to you shortly."

The old man gave the Major a brief smile before pulling out a case and placing his glasses into it.

"Good. I want you and my second officer to head to our outpost in Siberia. Once you two arrive there, call me for your next set of orders." The old man informed him before turning away.

"Yes, General!" Major Steiner replied before heading off to the helicopter near the courtyard.

The General watched the Major leave before turning toward his second, who was heading towards holding what he wanted in his hand.

The item in the man's hand was contained within a black lockbox that required a key, meaning nobody could see what the item inside the box was unless he allowed them too.

"Here you are sir. I have the last two men loading the other items on the supply truck for immediate evacuation." The second said as he handed the box to his leader.

"Sir, if I may ask, what exactly is inside this box." The man asked with a slight hint of confusion.

The General hesitated to give his second an answer. He really didn't want anybody other than him to know about this item. However, considering his second was always putting him first, the General really felt it would be fair to give his second some kind of explanation.

The General gave his second-in-command a small grin before taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry to say that I can't reveal the full truth of this item right now. However, I know that you have always been loyal to me since the day you were assigned under my command, and because of that I feel it's only fair to share some of the details with you, but only you my friend. But if I do this, you will not be permitted to speak to anyone about what you'll see. You are not to even mention it in your reports, do I make myself clear?" The General asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry, sir. I won't utter a word." The man answered before saluting.

"Put your hand down, second. You really don't need to do that." The General told him embarrassingly. He really hated it when people saluted to him like some sort of god. He wasn't Hitler, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was just an ordinary man.

The General walked over to one of the supply trucks before placing the item on the back of the trunk. He then took out two pairs of strange looking goggles.

"Here, I need you to put these on." The General informed him before placing his own pair on his eyes.

The second-in-command looked at the googles curiously. He had never seen goggles of this design before. But deciding not to question it, the man carefully placed the pair of goggles over his head and onto his eyes.

"Now, what you're about to see is highly classified, and more importantly very dangerous." The General explained as he inserted the key into the lock and turned.

"Sir, what exactly are these goggles for?" The second-in-command asked as the man placed the key into his back pocket.

The General took another deep breath before giving him an answer. "The item in this box is not meant to be seen by the eyes of humans. The goggles you're wearing are to protect you from harm." He informed the man.

"Now remember what I said, not a word to anyone." The General repeated before unlocking the two straps on the box.

The General slowly but cautiously lifted the lid to the box, allowing the man to see the item inside.

The item appeared to be some kind of glowing green gem. The gem was attached to a piece of silver jewelry, which somehow resembled an armlet.

"My God, sir…" The second in command said with a mixture of awe and horror.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The General asked with an eerie smile.

"What the hell is this thing, Sir?" The second-in-command asked warily.

"I'm not entirely certain, second." The General answered with a frown. "You see, I discovered this thing when I was searching through the book that you and your men recovered last month, and since then I've been trying to figure out how it works."

Gideon then slammed a first onto the trunk metal, causing it dent with the impact.

"What I don't understand is why I can't find anything else about it in the book, other than the location. I swear to god it's making me nothing but angry!" The General sneered before slamming the box closed.

The General's second in command jumped back with the sudden hostility. Why did his leader care so much about this dumb object anyways?

Seeing he was scaring his second-in-command, the General relaxed himself internally before continuing.

"I apologize, second. I suppose this hunt is starting to get to me. Anyway, you may leave now. Just remember what I told you." Gideon said to him.

"Yes, Sir. I'll head out now." His second-in-command replied before taking off towards the helicopter. However, the man turned back around before giving his leader one more piece of assurance.

"Oh, don't worry about me saying anything sir. My lips are completely sealed unless you say otherwise." The second assures before resuming his walk towards the helicopter.

The General watched the helicopter take off before turning away. He quickly noticed two of his men securing his other items in a large containment unit and walked towards them.

"Are we ready to move out yet?" The General asked the two men as he towered over them. He was clearly a little more than impatient by his current body language.

"Don't worry, sir. We're almost finished here. We're just making sure everything's secure before we leave the premises." The officer replied as he held a clipboard in his right hand.

"Good, the sooner we get out of here the better." The General muttered, before scanning the area around him.

The two men had no problem noticing their leader was looking a little more tense than usual.

"Sir, is everything okay. You're look a bit on edge there." One of the men asked concerned.

The General was about to answer them in denial before a large explosion rattled inside the base, causing all three men to turn around in surprise.

As soon as the General turned around, he was forced to take cover as a second shell fell in front of him. The shell then exploded, sending him flying backwards into the wall of the eastern compound.

The General looked up at the sky after recovering, only to see a large gunship hovering over the base. Gideon immediately knew the gunship belonged to the Allies, considering their symbol was imprinted onto the side of their hull, and it was pretty large to say the least.

The General quickly got and ran over to sound the alarm while the gunship continued to fire at the base.

Another shell struck near the western side of the base, causing the entire western part of the compound to collapse from the resulting explosion.

The General quickly reached the alarm. However, upon pressing the button the man realized it wasn't going off.

"What the hell is wrong with this thing!" The General said to himself angrily as he pounding on the big red button with his fist.

The reason the alarm wasn't working instantly filled the General with horror. His fear was confirmed upon seeing the power grid was completely offline. That meant they couldn't call for backup, nor could they defend themselves using their primary base defenses.

The General ran back to his two men, who were no arming themselves to the teeth.

"The main power grid's down. Hand me some more bloody weapons, Dammit." The General yelled as he grabbed the remaining weapons from the chest.

"Sir, we're all out of guns." One of the men protested, only for the General to glare angrily at him.

"Then go down to the armory and get some more!" The General told him angrily while loadiing one of his handguns.

The officer jumped back at hearing the man's frantic demands, but he quickly composed himself and ran down to the armory.

Meanwhile, the General grabbed anything else he could see lying on the ground. He knew he was going to have to improvise, at least until his officer returned with some more ammo.

The General glanced at the gate, quickly determining the Allies would breach the gate in a matter of seconds.

That fear was confirmed as the man observed three Allied jeeps stop in front of the gate and unload several armed troops before proceeding forward.

"Sir, I don't think he's going to make it back in time." The officer said while aiming down the sights at the gate.

The General just narrowed his eyes at the officer beside him. "Well, then we're going to make every shot count here." He replied before too aiming at the gate.

Unfortunately, the front gate exploded into pieces, causing them to fly back from the force. They hadn't even gotten a single shot out.

A second later, numerous Allied soldiers waltz directly into the now destroyed gate before holding them at gunpoint.

The Commander stood in front of his own men as he aimed his own rifle at the three man before him.

"That's enough, now all of you put down your weapons and surrender peacefully, or we'll shoot every last one of you Nazi scum." The Allied Commander sneered at them.

The General felt a surge of anger at the commander's bold words. He was tempted to resist the arrest and shoot the annoying man's eyes out.

However, he knew that unless he wanted an early death, there was no other way for him to get out of this.

The General just swallowed down his remark as he threw his guns on the ground, right in front of the commander. The other officer quickly followed his commanding officer's action.

"Now, get down on the ground and place your hands behind your back." The Commander ordered.

The two Nazi's hesitated before kneeling on the ground with their hands raised in the air.

"Subdue them at once." The Commander said as he looked at the soldier beside him.

The soldier nodded before taking out a pair of restraints and placing them both men's arms.

Seeing the soldiers had the two Nazi's under control, the Commander bent down and picked up the guns on the ground.

"These items are now under protection of the United States Armed Forces. As for you two, you'll be taken to a military facility in London to await trial as prisoners of war." The commander informed them with a smirk.

The General stood there silent, just staring at the Allied Commander in front of him. He was now shaking with barely contained rage. It was taking him everything single ounce of control to not lash out at the man in front of him.

Unfortunately, the horrible reality began to sink in to him. Everything he had worked for his entire life was now tossed down the drain.

The General didn't care if he got shot anymore as he moved towards the man in front of him angrily.

"You won't stop us." He snarled angrily, causing the other soldiers to hold him tighter. "You're delusional if you think locking us up is going to stop our plans."

"Restrain him you idiots!" The Commander yelled. He was clearly getting angry with the General's actions toward him.

"You realize we'll be back one day! I can assure one way or the other, all of you will pay dearly for your actions! I swear it!" The General vowed darkly as he continued fighting against his captors.

Unfortunately for him, the General's futile efforts to escape only pushed the Allied Commander over the edge.

In a desperate attempt to silence the Nazi General, the Allied Commander walked up to him and promptly smashed his at the side of his face.

The impact immediately sent the General falling to the ground and into unconsciousness.

The Allied Commander growled as he now stood over the fallen body. Although he couldn't deny the Generals audacity to taunt him like that amused him, he really didn't have the patience or the mood to sit there and listen to his empty threats.

The commander scoffed before turning away towards one of his officers.

"Pick him up and secure him on the Jeep. I'll meet you over there shortly." The commander ordered him, his voice still showing some signs of anger within it.

The soldier quickly nodded before picking up the body over his shoulder and dragging it towards the jeep.

The Allied Commander just watched with angry eyes as the officer dragged take General with him.

"That Nazi pig is really going to be the death of me." The Commander muttered to himself while curling his fist into balls. He already knew he'd have to deal with the general during his trial, but he made a mental note to avoid him for as long as he could.

The Commander scoffed before heading toward another two of his men. Both were standing near a supply truck located in the center of the courtyard.

Apparently, they had found a multitude of items, and by the looks of it, they were having trouble deciding what to do with them.

"Is there a problem here?" The Commander asked them with a scowl.

The officers jumped at the sound of their commander's voice, they were so busy arguing they hadn't even heard his footsteps.

"Not really, sir. We're just trying to decide what to with these items here." One of the officers while pointed to the items on the ground.

The Commander glanced at the items that were on the ground in front of him.

To him, most of them resembled artifacts due to their appearance. All except for one, which was a black lockbox just sitting on the supply truck, sticking out like a sore thumb.

"You two can go ahead and get these items secured on the truck. I'll be over there in a minute." The Commander told them.

The two officers nodded before beginning to grab the items one at a time.

Meanwhile, for some unusual reason, the Commander couldn't keep his eyes off the lockbox in front of him.

Glancing back at his men to see if they weren't looking, the Commander walked a bit closer to the box before putting his hand on top of it.

It was almost as if whatever item was inside this box was urging him to see it for himself. But as much as he tried to resist the strange feeling, he just couldn't ignore it.

The Commander quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small needle before inserting it into the box's keyhole.

"I bet the General has the key in one of his pockets." He muttered to himself. Still, he made another mental note to get the key from the General later.

As soon as the Commander unlocked the box, he took one last glance at his men before opening it slowly.

The Commander was instantly amazed upon seeing the item inside the box. Apparently, it was some kind of gem. But the Commander had never seen anything quite like it before.

The entire gem was somehow encased in a dim glowing hue, almost as if it was producing its own energy. He could feel the pull he was getting from the item, and to be honest, it was kind of freaking him out.

The Commander continued to stare at the Gem for a few more seconds. However, the man endured a sudden flash from the item, causing him to cover his eyes in pain.

"Ah!" The Commander yelped as he jumped back and rubbed his eyes.

Meanwhile, one of the officer's helping taking of the items noticed his commander in pain and quickly ran to help out.

"Sir, are you all right!" The officer asked as he grabbed the man by the arm. However, the commander didn't appreciate the man's sentiment.

"Get your hands off of me!" He screamed, causing the officer jump back in surprise. Little did he know the Commander was just as surprised by his actions as he was.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean too…" The officer stammered, clearly stunned by his leader's reaction.

The Commander closed his eyes before pinching the brow of his nose. What the heck had come over him back there?

"There's no need to apologize. You were just doing your job." The Commander reassured him calmly. "However, I would definitely appreciate if you'd get back to work. We need to be wheels up in five minutes.".

"Yes, Sir!" The officer saluted before grabbing the remaining items.

The Commander watched him leave before taking out his pocket watch and opening it. They really did need to get going as soon as possible. They couldn't afford to be late.

Still, the man turned to give the lockbox one last glance. He reminded himself to look into this mystery gem a little bit more later.

Meanwhile, the Commander had other important matters to attend too.

Placing the watch back in his pocket, the Commander headed over to the jeep and grabbed a clipboard from the passenger seat.

He decided it would be smart to take inventory before leaving. After all, he knew how important it was to make sure his men didn't miss anything during their sweep.

The last thing he needed was to leave some dangerous artifacts behind, let alone in enemy territory.

Besides, the Commander knew that even with the Nazi's pretty much gone, there was always a chance any of those dangerous items could fall into another enemy's hands. That was something the Commander couldn't allow.

The commander muttered to himself as he pulled out a pen from the front of his shirt pocket and began checking off the list.

Meanwhile, he kept stealing glances at the two men that were still loading the items. The commander tensed as he observed his officer move the lockbox into their own supply truck.

Why the hell was that gem giving him these uncomfortable feelings.

Trying desperately to shake off the tension he was feeling, the commander shook his head before finishing up the checklist.

Once he was done, he placed the clipboard and pen back into the passenger seat before turning around to wait for his men.

He watched as the two officers bought the last item to the truck and placed it inside.

"Are we quite finished here yet?" the Commander asked them with a frown.

"Yes, sir. We've double checked interior of the base, and I'm happy to report that there's no sign of Nazi activity in the area." The officer answered, doing well to maintain his smile.

The Commander's frowned melded into a smile at the news.

"Good, you two get yourselves on the trucks. We'll be heading out of here in a minute." He informed as he pointed them to one of the trucks behind him.

The two officers saluted him together before heading off toward their vehicles.

Once they were out of his sight, the Commander pulled out his pocket watch out again. He couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the currently displayed time.

He really needed to get his men moving to the extraction point soon as possible. His superiors would be meeting him in an hour, and he knew they didn't like to be kept waiting.

The Commander placed the watch back in his pocket before making the jeep in front of the convoy.

However, the second passed the supply truck with the items, the man reached both his hands to his head and gripped it.

An intense burning sensation was coursing through his head. It felt like his brain was on fire, and he couldn't keep focus on what he was doing.

The Commander quickly grabbed the side of the truck and squeezed, hoping it would help him withstand the pain. Too bad it wasn't helping him in the slightest.

"What the heck is happening to me." He quivered while squeezing his eyes shut.

IT HURT SO BAD! Now he knew how a person felt when they got third degree burns all over their skin.

The man gripped the side of the truck even harder, praying for the pain in his head to pass quickly. Luckily, his prayers must've been answered because it didn't take long for the pain to diminish, though it wasn't gone completely.

The Commander loosened his grip before taking a very deep breath. He really couldn't understand what had caused the pain in the first place.

'That was strange…' The commander muttered to himself before finally continuing to his jeep. He could still feel the pain lingering inside his head slightly. Still, he brushed it off and hoped that his men wouldn't notice it.

Once the Commander arrived at the jeep, he got directly into the passenger seat with the driver. It was clear to him the driver was unhappy with him at the moment.

With everything that had been happening earlier, the Commander had completely lost track of time. He and his men had in there for a half-hour, and he was certainly aware his driver wasn't quite patient when it came to time management.

However, the commander couldn't help but chuckle internally at the irony. He had always lenient when it came to the man, but he was also aware he couldn't indulge the man either. Being a driver required a great deal of patience, and it was truly ironic that his own driver lacked the most important requirement of the job…patience.

"Are we ready to go, Commander?" The driver asked, not hiding his annoyance with the him very well.

The Commander just turned toward the man and glared. He really didn't want to deal with the man's attitude right now.

"Yes, we're pretty much done here. We'll be heading out in a minute." The Commander said as he buckled his seatbelt. However, the second he did that the pain in his head spiked.

The Commander couldn't help but grasp the side of his head with both hands. The man had a feeling his driver had noticed it, but he really didn't care at the moment. All he wanted was to make the intense pain go away.

The Commander quickly loosened his grip before muttering something under his breath. However, he was unaware that what he muttered was in an entirely different language.

The driver was confused by the Commander's actions himself. He couldn't understand what the man was saying. What was more strange, was that in his line of work, he had been trained by professionals to speak more than 30 different known languages in the world. But out of all the languages he knew, the driver was certain the Commander had not been speaking in any of them. In fact, he was fairly certain he hadn't heard this language until his Commander spoke it today.

Still, the driver decided not to press the issue with his superior. If the man's life was in mortal danger, he was sure he wouldn't hesitate to tell him. Besides, it's not like he was leaving the man's sight anytime soon. If he needed anything he'd be right here next to him.

The Commander released the grip he had on his head before taking a deep breath. However, he felt a sudden surge of angry when he noticed his driver was staring at him. Why wasn't he moving out like he told him too?

"What the heck are you doing? I told you to move out!" The commander snapped as he leaned directly into the man's face.

The driver leaned back, going further toward the door the closer the man got to his face. He unconsciously wiped some saliva from his cheek the man had spat at him.

"I was waiting for you sir. You told me to wait a second before we left?" He responded nervously, his breaths turning a bit shallow as the man violated his space.

He had no idea why the commander was acting this way. Perhaps he said something wrong to him?

The Commander's anger instantly melded upon seeing the driver's face. He immediately realized he had yelled at the driver when he hadn't done anything wrong.

All he knew was when the pain splashed his head at that moment, he immediately felt a surge of anger course through his entire body. What confused him the most was the fact the man couldn't figure out where it came from. The man had no cause to be angry, yet he suddenly couldn't help but lash out at the whoever was close to him.

"You're right…I'm very sorry. Don't worry about it." The Commander assured him, sound a bit calmer than he was before.

Seeing the driver smile in response, the Commander leaned back before placing a hand to his forehead. He felt it was a bit hotter than usual.

The Commander removed his hand, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Perhaps he was coming down with a fever? It was quite possible considering how hot his head felt.

However, there was one other thing that was nagging at him. He kept feeling there was somebody else watching him in the background. But that was stupid, the only other person with him at the moment was the driver.

Perhaps he was just feeling a little paranoid due to his sudden illness. For now, he decided to just let it go.

The drive instantly noticed his commander turn around and look out the back of the jeep. Now he knew something was wrong with the man, or at least bothering him.

"Sir, are you sure you're okay? You're looking a bit pale" The driver asked reluctantly. He was kind of afraid the man would get angry at him if he wasn't careful.

The Commander gave the man a glare as he grabbed the PA radio.

"Don't worry about it. I'm probably just coming down with a bug." The commander reassured him before clicking the PA system on.

"Alright, sir. But if you need anything, I'm here for you." The driver replied as he buckled his own seatbelt before starting the car.

Once they were ready, the Commander brought the PA radio speaker to his lips and spoke.

"All units, we're heading out to the rally point now. All of you follow and stay close." The Commander informed the convoy through the loudspeaker. "Make sure you stay in standard formation as well. Don't break unless I say so."

The Commander looked in the rearview mirror, and once he saw the other drivers acknowledge him, he carefully put the PA radio back in its place.

"Alright, let's get out of here." The Commander told the driver before leaning back in his seat again.

The driver quickly acknowledged him before shifting the gear and starting out of enemy territory. The other drivers followed behind them in a straight line.

"Sir, the items we recovered…what exactly are they?" The driver suddenly asked him out of nowhere.

The Allied Commander just shrugged offhandedly. He really didn't care about to think those stupid items right now. All he wanted was to nap until they got to the rally point. Besides, the commander couldn't provide him with an answer even if he wanted to. He barely knew anything about the items himself…

"Are they some kind of artifacts?" The driver pressed on.

"Just focus on getting to the rally point, please." The commander said as he held the front his forehead again. He really just wanted a nap right now.

"Wake me up when we get to the rally point driver." The Commander told him before shutting his eyes.

The driver just acknowledged him without turning to face him, trying to keep his eyes on the road. He wasn't very good with multitasking apparently.

The Commander soon fell into deep sleep, which was plagued with horrible nightmares that he couldn't understand. He began to moan and groan in his sleep, his body twitching as the images he was seeing scared him into submission.

Meanwhile, the camera zoomed out, showing the other drivers that were following their commander from behind. However, none of them were aware they were being watched from a nearby rooftop.

The unknown figure smiled evilly at the moving convoy. His glowing purple eyes locked directly onto the Allied Commander, who was currently asleep in the front passenger seat.

The unknown creature continued to hop from roof to roof so he wouldn't lose them.

Luckily, the device on his wrist allowed him to travel in phase mode, which made it almost impossible for anyone other than his own kind to him unless he wished it.

He looked at the device as his smirk grew, he was pretty sure it would work the same way if anyone else were to wear it.

The creature was well aware his master had given him the small device so he could keep an eye on the gem without being seen. However, the creature now had a keen interest in the sleeping man.

Somehow, this human was able to sense him even when phased. And knew that was a big enough problem all on its own.

Still, there was one other thing that was bugging him. He was trying to figure how this man could even sense him in the first place.

His first thought was that the device had been damaged somehow, but upon looking at it he saw it was working perfectly.

So, it didn't make any sense to him. If the watch wasn't broken, then there shouldn't be any way for the man to sense him now. Unless…

The creature snickered to himself as he jumped over two more roofs. If the evidence meant what he thought it meant, then he needed to inform his master as soon as possible.

'I'll be keeping on you myself." The creature whispered while giving the convoy a dark glare. He then jumped to another rooftop so that he could see the front of the commander's jeep.

"I'm going to find out where you're taking my prize you fool." He sneered at the convoy. "And once I rip the item from your cold dead hands, I'm going to take pleasure in bringing down your kind once and for all."

The creature walked towards the roof and turned towards the still moving convoy one last time.

"I will be watching in the shadows for now. But I guarantee you fools that I'll be back to finish the job very soon." He vowed as he fisted his hand into a ball. "I promise you one thing. You'll never see us coming until it's too late."

The creature then threw his head back into an evil laugh before disappearing in a puff of strange purple smoke, leaving little to no evidence behind in his wake.

 **Like I said before, this is the opening scene and a preview to the first chapter. But don't fret, the rest of the chapter feature Danny and his friends. Hopefully, I'll have it ready soon.**


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